Bringing PCs and Xbox consoles together, episode 157

Microsoft is planning to launch Xbox Game Pass on Windows 10 PCs as part of the company’s plan to bring together PCs and gaming consoles.

CEO Satya Nadella revealed during the company’s earnings report earlier today that the subscription service is projected to become available to PC gamers as well, though no other specifics were offered.

At first glance, such an announcement may seem confusing for Windows 10 users, especially because Xbox Game Pass titles can be played on PCs already.

However, this is only the case for titles that launched as Play Anywhere, so if you already own an Xbox Game Pass on a console and receive access to a game that also comes with support for PCs, you can play it on Windows 10 as well.

What Microsoft could plan to do by expanding Xbox Game Pass to Windows 10 PCs is actually bringing the full service to its desktop platform. This could eventually mean gamers would be provided with more titles regardless of their compatibility with the Xbox, and Microsoft may use this as an incentive for studios to release Play Anywhere titles.

2 billion gamer worldwide

Obviously, if it ever makes it to the PC, Xbox Game Pass would be available from the Microsoft Store.

Nadella said during the company’s earnings call with analysts that the company has more than 2 billion gamers across the world.

“First-party content is key to our approach, and we now have eleven game studios in our portfolio to deliver differentiated content for our fast-growing services like Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Live now has 57 million monthly active users, and Mixer user growth is accelerating. This loyal, high value community is our strongest asset, creating expanding opportunity for monetization of first and third-party games,” he said.

Further details could be provided as we advance towards the next Windows 10 release due in the spring of 2019.